Automatic safety-shutter



F. E. CAWLEY. AUTOMATIC SAFETY SHUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 2. 1920.

1 ,359,230. Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

"Fm E. GAWLEY, or MASON CITY, IOWA, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF To JOHN KOPECKY, or MASON CITY, IOWA.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY-SHUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application filed April 2 1920. Serial No. 370,808.

son City, in the county of Cerro Gordo and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Safety-Shutters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to motion picture machine booths and has for its object the provision of means whereby in the event of a fire therein safety shutters will be automatically disposed over the wall openings through which projection is made.

An important and more specific object is the provision of means of this character comprising a plurality of shutters slidably disposed above the wall openings and normally held elevated in non-obstructing relation to the openings, means being provided whereby upon burning of a strip of film or other readily fusible material, mechanism will be released to permit the shutters to descend and close the openings.

An additional object is the provision of a device of this character in which any shutfor may be manually closed when desired without in any way interfering with the other shutters.

A further object is the provision of a device of this character which will be simple v and inexpensive in manufacture, highly efficient in use, positive in action, durable in service, and a general improvement in the art.

With the above and other objects and ad-- vantages in view, the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the interior of a booth and showing my device in position, and

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view on the line 2.2 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the letter A designates the front wall of a moving picture machine booth, B designates the projection openings therein, and C designates the supporting stand of the projection apparatus.

In carryingout my invention, I prov de guides 10 at the sides of each opening B and these guides may have associated therewith stops 11 disposed at the bottoms of the openings. Slidable between each set of guides is a shutter 12, in actual practice, an iron plate, and these plates or shutters are adapted to be moved downwardly to cover the openings B.

Journaled upon the wall A by means of suitable brackets 13, is a rock shaft 14 which is provided at one end with an arm 15 carrying a weight 16, The shaft 14 is provided above each shutter 12 with a transverse hole 14 within which is engaged a cotter pin or the like 17 to which is connected a chain or wire 18 extending downwardly and connected with the adjacent shutter 12.

Secured above the stand C are loops 19 and 20 of readily fusible or inflammable material and which may be, in actual practice, formed from strips of film. Connected with the loop 20 is a flexible cord 21 which the screw-eye 23 and then through a. third screw-eye or other guide 24 and which has its terminal connected with the arm 15.

The operation of the device is as follows:

When the fusible loops 19 and 20 are in position and the flexible cord 21 connected therewith and connected with the arm 15, it will be seen that the arm 15 will be held in horizontal position, as shown, and the shaft 14 will be in such position that the cotter pins 17 extending therethrough will be horizontally disposed. The pins will then not pull out and the shutters 12 will be held elevated. In the event of a fire the strips or loops 19 and 20, one or both, will burn which will release the cord or the like 21 and permit the arm 15 to drop. The shaft 14: will then be rotated so that the holes 14" therein will be in substantially vertical position and the weight of the shutters 12 will pull the cotter pins out of'these holes and the shutters will of course descend to their lower positions, closing the openings B. This action is entirely automatic and it will be observed that there is an absence of a multiplicity of strings or cords and that there is thereforenothing to get in the way. It will also be observed that by pulling out the pin 17' any shutter may be lowered if desired, without in any way interfering 75 is tralned through a screw-eye or other guide From the foregoing description and a study of the drawin it will be apparent that I have thus provlded a very simple automatic means for closing the projection openings in a motion picture machine booth in the event of a fire, the device being positive in action so as to comply with the strictest fire regulations.

IVhile I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right to make such changes in the form, construction, and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a motion picture machine booth having a wall provided with openings, shutters slidably disposed upon the wall and normally disposed above the openings, a rock shaft journaled above the openings and having a weighted arm, a plurality of loops of fusible material, a flexible member trained through said loops and having one.

end secured and the other end connected with said arm whereby upon burning of a loop said arm will drop to effect rotation of said rock shaft, and means connecting said shutters with said rock shaft and disen aging therefrom when said shaft is rocke 2. In a motion picture booth having a wall provided with openings, shutters 'slidably disposed upon the wall and normally disposed above the openings, a rock shaft journaled above the openings and having a weighted arm, a plurality of loops of fusible material, a flexible member trained through said loops and having one end secured and the other end connected with said arm whereby upon burning of a loop said arm will drop to effect rotation of said rock shaft, and means connecting said shutters with said rock shaft and disengaging therefrom when said shaft is rocked, said means comprising pins connected by flexible members with said shutters, and the shaft being provided with transverse holes within which I said pins are engaged.

3. In a motion picture machine booth having a wall provided with openings, shutters disposed upon the wall and normally above the openings, a rock shaft journaled above the openings and having a weighted arm, a member of fusible material secured at one end, a flexible member connected with said fusible member and with said arm, whereby upon burning of said fusible member said arm will drop to efl ect rotation of said rock shaft, and means connecting said shutters with said rock shaft and disen agin from the latter when the latter is roc ed.

11 testimony whereof I afiix my si nature.

FRANK E. CA EY. 

